W.ONDERFUL W.ORLD OF W.ADHOLMS

Forever Listening to the Spirit

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Rick Wadholm

I recently read something by Lesslie Newbigin (that great missionary statesman of the twentieth century) that struck a chord with me. He wrote the following concerning the Jerusalem congregation’s recognition of the validity of the Gentile mission that Peter had just returned from (Acts 10-11):

“They were silenced because they had to recognize something new. Jesus had never spoken or acted to call in question the law of circumcision (as he had called in question the law of the Sabbath). The Church was entering a new way which it had not trodden before. Nor did the Church formulate a new policy in this matter by reflection upon and development of the remembered words of Jesus. It was a fresh action of the living Spirit which confronted the Church with the necessity for a new decision. ‘The word of Jesus is not a collection of doctrines that is in need of supplementation, nor is it a developing principle that will only be unfolded in the history of ideas; as the Spirit’s proclamation it always remains the word spoken into the world from beyond’ (Bultmann). But this word is the word of Jesus; it is not another word. The work of the Spirit does not lead past, or beyond, or away from Jesus.” (The Light Has Come: An Exposition of the Fourth Gospel Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B.Eerdmans, 1982, pp.216-7)

We, as well, cannot simply treat the Scriptures as a comprehensive list (or we may end up being no different than some of the Pharisees of Jesus’ own day–unless we take the New Pauline Perspective on the Pharisees as genuine) of do’s and don’t’s. In every age we are called to listen to the voice of the Spirit which is the voice of the Lord Jesus speaking to His Church the very words of his Father. None of this is to suggest that there will be any discord between what God has spoken, is speaking and will speak. The Scriptures are our measure, but the Scriptures are not simply words that can be adopted apart from the working of the Holy Spirit within us. This means that in all of our hearing, we must press in to hear exactly what the Spirit is saying and once we have heard…to obey.

Posted in Acts, Holy Spirit, Interpretation, Jesus Christ, Lesslie Newbigin, Rudolph Bultmann, Scripture | Leave a comment

Ezekiel 40-42 – A New House for the LORD

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Rick Wadholm

40:1-4 – A new vision. The date given in verse one marks the twenty-fifth year of the exile of Jehoiachin and the fourteenth year since the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem (April 28, 573BC). The twenty-five year mark may be given in particular to suggest the turning point towards the fifty year Jubilee (Block NICOT II:512). The tenth day of the first month (likely Nissan for the religious calendar and not Tishri of the civil calendar) would be the commencement of the Passover festival (Exo.12:3) though Ezekiel curiously does not mention this. It has been proposed that Ezekiel may be giving a counter to the Babylonian New Year’s celebration (Akk. akītu) which was celebrated on the same day and wherein Marduk their chief deity was annually re-enthroned (see Block NICOT II:513). Where might “the very high mountain” be located and what does this mountain represent? (cf. Eze.17:22; 20:40; Isa. 2:2-3; Mic.4:1; Rev.21:10) What does Ezekiel see from the south side of the mountain? The man who appears to Ezekiel acts as a guide and will reveal to Ezekiel particular dimensions of the visionary temple in order for Ezekiel to share this with Israel.

40:5-27 – The outer gates and the outer court. What is the purpose of the wall surrounding the temple? The measurement tool of the visionary guide follows the royal cubit instead of the common cubit and measures approximately 1 and ¾ feet long and so his “rod” is approximately 3 ½ yards (or 10 ½ feet) long. This would make the wall about 10 feet thick and 10 feet tall (though almost no other height measurements are listed anywhere else). Why did Ezekiel approach from the east first? Note the many rooms for guards in the massive gate. Why would there need to be so many guards and security? Take note of the many measurements that are multiples of 25 throughout this visionary temple and the very simple carvings. Who accessed the “outer court”? Note the dimensions of the gates and the outer court. Also, the steps from to the gates are seven.

By A. Gaebelein “The Prophet Ezekiel” (1918)
A. The Temple House
B. Altar of Burnt Offering
C. Inner Court
D. Gates to Inner Court
E. Separate Place
F. Hinder Building
G. Priest’s Kitchens
H. Chambers for Priests
I. Chambers
K. People’s Kitchen
L. Gates into Outer Court
M. Pavement
N. Chambers in Outer Court (30)
O. Outer Court

40:28-47 – The inner gates and the inner court. Note the dimensions and decorations of the inner court and the eight steps which led up into it. Each of the gates are identical (both outer with each other and the inner with each other respectively). The furniture of the inner court is specifically only for the various sacrifices – burnt (Heb. ‘ōlâh; cf. Lev.1:3), sin (Heb. hāttā’t; cf. Lev.4:2-3, 13) and guilt (Heb. ’āŝam; cf. Lev.5:6; 6:6; 7:1-2) – whether tables, hooks (?), or utensils. The guards were apparently Zadokite Levites responsible for all of the temple precincts security and priestly ministry (Block NICOT II:537-9; cf. Num.18:1-7; 2 Sam.8:17; 2 Kings 11:4-7). Note the place of the altar in relation to the temple proper.

40:48-41:26 – The temple proper. The temple was again located higher (10 steps up) than the inner court (eight steps up) which had been higher than the outer court (seven steps up) – leading to a total of twenty-five steps. It is also set up higher so as to protect the holy from the profane and the profane from the holy. While Ezekiel is taken through much of the wider building(s), he is only informed about the dimensions of the “Most Holy Place” of the temple. The doors of each level also get progressively smaller and there are fewer and fewer that are permitted beyond each. The decorations of the temple itself are cherubim and palm trees, which is considerably less ornate than Solomon’s temple or even the tabernacle of Moses. The wooden table in the holy place just in front of the most holy place was likely for showbread (though there is not specific mention of its purpose here).

42:1-20 – Rooms for the priests of the temple. Rooms stacked three stories high were built along the north and south sides of the temple proper in order to provide sacred space for the priests to eat the special offerings and to change out of their priestly garments. Why should they change their clothes or eat in the sacred areas? What are the dimensions of the whole complex as shown to Ezekiel?

Some Questions and Comments Concerning This Temple – What does a comparison and contrast of this temple demonstrate with regard to the tabernacle of Moses, the temple of Solomon and the “New Jerusalem” of Revelation 21-22? Note that while many dimensions are given for this temple of Ezekiel there are no materials mentioned other than with regard to the altars and tables. Also, while there is great detail provided for dimensions there is no instruction to Ezekiel (or even through Ezekiel to Israel) to build such a temple. The temple that was constructed under Ezra’s leadership nev
er did fit the description of Ezekiel’s vision, nor does there appear to have been any attempt to even try. Why is this? What might this temple point to? Is this temple representative of something or will it (as according to typical Dispensational beliefs) be built in a millennial reign of Christ? If it would be built in such a time, why should there be continued sacrifices offered and what does this make of the once-for-all sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ? Perhaps the best way forward is not to view this temple as prescribed to be built at some future time, but simply as indicative of the utter holiness with which God dwells. Also, how might we understand this temple in light of Jesus claim of being the “temple” (John 2:19-21) and of Paul’s later comments regarding the individuals of the Church (1 Cor.3:16-17; 6:19) as well as the Church corporately being the “temple” (2 Cor.6:16)?

Posted in 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, 2 Kings, 2 Samuel, Daniel Block, Exodus, Ezekiel, Isaiah, John, Micah, Numbers, Revelation, temple | Leave a comment

Naming-and-Claiming It

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Rick Wadholm

“He is a traitor who uses the Gospel as a threat to extract money…a hypocrite who uses the cross as a sword…a wolf disguised in a lamb’s skin…a glutton who adores the tables more than the altars…a gold hungry creature who runs after the rolling coin to the farthest land…a cheat who pilfers from widows and orphans. He is a monstrous being, with an eagle’s beak, a tiger’s claws, a hyena’s teeth, and viper’s fangs.” (Spiritual Sayings of Khalil Gibran p.60)

Talk about a message that needs to be heard by the many preachers who have taken to proclaiming another gospel…which seems to know nothing of poverty, sickness and suffering…of THE Crucified‘s life and the concomitant crucified life. Greed, gluttony, lies and manipulation do not belong to the Kingdom. God help us!

Posted in Khalil Gibran | Leave a comment

Ezekiel 38-39 – Gog and Magog

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Rick Wadholm

38:1-9 – Who is Gog and what will he do? It is believed that this is a reference to the recent figure Gyges of Lydia (reigned in approximately the first half of the seventh century BC according to certain Assyrian records) who was a usurper of the Lydian throne and reputed to have first printed coins. He is recorded here in Ezekiel as being of the land of “Magog” (which may be possibly taken as “land of Gog”) and the “chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” (cf. Eze.27:13; 32:26 for their presence in the grave; also Ps.120:5-7). The names Magog, Meshech and Tubal are all listed in Genesis 10:2 as sons of Japheth. They appear here to refer to locations in the western Anatolia and thus to be representing those at the fringe of the north for Israelite concerns. Who is actually bringing Gog and his horde against Israel? Allied with them are the combined forces of Persia (?), Cush (upper Egypt) and Put (Libya) representing the southern hordes. From still further north than Lydia (and east), the armies of Gomer and Beth Togarmah (likely the Cimmerians) are gathered as well. These would serve as representatives of the most wild and vast armies of the world. They are called to gather at some distantly future time in order to invade a regathered Israel that is finally at peace.

38:10-16 – The thoughts and conversations of Gog. Who will be responsible for Gog’s plans to conquer Israel? Also, who intends to benefit from Gog’s plans? The representative nations are from east (Sheba and Dedan) to west (Tarshish). This would then entail the peoples from every direction in the plot to destroy the nation that lies at the center of the LORD’s plan for the ages. “Why would Yahweh bring Gog against his own people after the covenant relationship had been fully restored? Because an element in the divine agenda, the universal recognition of his person, remains unfulfilled” (Block NICOT II:451). Is there a distinction between the self-revelation of the LORD and the revelation of the holiness of the LORD?

38:17-23 – The battle between Gog and the LORD. How should we understand the question in verse seventeen? Where would such prophecies possibly be found? Some have suggested a radical changing of Isaiah 14:24-25 and Jeremiah 6:22, however it may be that the question was rhetorical and should receive the answer of “No”. Gog was not called as the hand of judgment against Israel (as the Assyrians and Babylonians before him had been), but instead is brought against Israel for the judgment of the nations. At some undefined moment in the future the battle would be engaged, but instead of Israel taking up the fight the LORD Himself would fight on their behalf. The world will be shaken and made to tremble and radically altered (cf. Isa.24:17-20; Joel 2:10; 3:3-4, 15-16; Hag.2:6-7; Zech.14:4-5; Matt.24:29-30; Rev.16:17-21). Not only will the LORD bear the sword against the hordes, but they will fight against one another (as at other pivotal moments in Israel’s history). Divine judgment (as plague, bloodshed, torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur) will be poured out on that great host in order to demonstrate the greatness and holiness of the LORD.

39:1-8 – The slaughtering of Gog and his allies. Notice that once again the LORD says He will be the one bringing Gog against Israel, but He will also be the one to defeat Gog (particular emphasis upon the weapons of archers for which the northern kingdoms were renowned). Those who gathered for the battle will be destroyed as well as those who supported the invasion. Note the reason the LORD gives for this: both for the nations and for Israel. Though the day is far off from Ezekiel’s pronouncement does this mean that it will not happen?

39:9-16 – Israel must be cleansed. Those who were living in safety now leave their homes to pick up all of the weaponry (seven types listed) that remains (which is said to last seven years) to use as fuel for their home-fires and to bury all of the dead (which is said to take seven months). The use of seven seems to suggest completeness as to the destruction and cleansing. There will be so many to bury that there won’t even be room for travelers through that portion of Israel which is then to be called the Valley of Hamon (“horde of”) Gog – sounding rather like a play on the Valley of Hinnom outside of Jerusalem. What does Ezekiel mean by stating that the cities name will be “Hamonah”? It may likely be a symbolic name for Jerusalem which had earlier in his prophecies been described as being filled with hāmôn (cf. 5:7; 7:12-14; 23:40-42; and Block NICOT II:471-2). This would serve as a memorial of what Jerusalem had once been and how the LORD Himself had delivered her.

39:17-21 – The sacrificial feast of the nations. Ezekiel is told to call all of the carrion creatures of the land and air to gather for a gluttonous and macabre feast upon the armies that were slaughtered (cf. Isa.34:6-8; Zeph.1:7; Rev.19:17-21). The rulers and great men are referred to by names of animals for divine sacrifice and the parts usually reserved for God are consumed by the creatures of the earth. What is the point of including such a grotesque description?

39:22-29 – Israel is returned. Will Israel be able to take credit for returning from exile? What significance is given by the LORD’s face having been turned from Israel and what might be the difference between that and His face being turned against Israel? Is Israel’s blessing (and was their judgment) for themselves or for the nations? Does the LORD leave any of His people behind? It is a wonderful thing to know that whereas the LORD had once poured out His wrath (Eze.7:8; 9:8; 30:15; 36:18) in that day He will pour out His Spirit (cf. Joel 2:28-32).

Posted in Daniel Block, Ezekiel, Genesis, Gog and Magog, Gyges, Haggai, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Matthew, Psalms, Revelation, Zechariah, Zephaniah | Leave a comment

N. T. Wright Paper Approved

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Rick Wadholm

Yesterday I finally was notified that one of my paper proposals for the Society for Pentecostal Studies for the upcoming 2011 meeting in Memphis has been approved! That’s happy news indeed. My proposal is (tentatively) titled: “N. T. Wright’s ‘Justification’ and the Cry of the Spirit”. It is an interaction with Wright’s view of justification (from his book of response to John Piper’s response to him in “The Future of Justification”…talk about having a lot to say to each other). Essentially I’m arguing that Wright’s pneumatological orientation for justification is helpful (especially for a more robust Pentecostal theology of justification) and will tease this out through expositions of the two Pauline passages (Rom. 8:15 and Gal. 4:6) dealing with the cry of the Spirit, “Abba!” (any possibility of a plug for the group by the same name…their songs always get stuck in my head 🙂 There will also be some cameos by Gordon Fee in the paper (as he has been saying much the same thing as Wright…though obviously not in full agreement with Wright overall scheme as I understand it).

Posted in Gordon Fee, John Piper, Justification, N. T. Wright, Society for Pentecostal Studies | Leave a comment

Jesus Christ and Time

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Rick Wadholm

I’ve been reading through Karl Barth’s “Dogmatics in Outline” (for a third time now and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the complete fourteen volume “Church Dogmatics” this coming November first) as prep for Sunday nights working through the Apostles’ Creed and happened upon this wonderful extended quote dealing with Jesus Christ and time. I just couldn’t help but to share it (from Barth, Karl. Dogmatics in Outline. tran. G. T. Thompson; Harper Torchbooks, NY: 1959, pp.130-131) and ask: “What do you think about his concept of “eternity” and “time” in comparison to the modern Evangelical notions?”

Jesus Christ’s yesterday is also His to-day and His to-morrow. It is not timelessness, not empty eternity that comes in place of His time. His time is not at an end; it continues in the movement from yesterday to to-day, into to-morrow. It has not the frightful fleetingness of our present. When Jesus Christ sitteth at the right hand of the Father, this existence of His with God, His existence as the possessor and representative of the divine grace and power towards us men, has nothing to do with what we are foolishly wont to conceive as eternity–namely, an existence without time. If this existence of Jesus Christ at the right hand of God is real existence and as such the measure of all existence, then it is also existence in time, although in another time than the one we know. If the lordship and rule of Jesus Christ at the Father’s right hand is the meaning of what we see as the existence of our world history and our life-history, then this existence of Jesus Christ is not a timeless existence, and eternity is not a timeless eternity. Death is timeless, nothingness is timeless. So we men are timeless when we are without God and without Christ. Then we have no time. But this timelessness He has overcome. Christ has time, the fullness of time. He sitteth at the right hand of God as He who has come, who has acted and suffered and triumphed in death. His session at God’s right hand is not just the extract of this history; it is the eternal within this history….He is the Alpha and the Omega, the centre of real time, of God’s time; which is not meaningless time that passes away….’Infiniteness’ is a comfortless business and not a divine predicate, but one that pertains to fallen creatureliness. This end without an end is frightful. It is an image of man’s lostness. Man is in such a state that he is precipitated into aimlessness and endlessness. This idea of the endless has nothing to do at all with God. A limit is rather set to this time. Jesus Christ is and brings the real time. But God’s time also has an end, as well as a beginning and a middle. Man is surrounded and upheld on all sides. That is life. So man’s existence becomes visible in the second article [of the Apostles’ Creed]: Jesus Christ wit His past, present and future.

Posted in Dogmatics in Outline, Jesus Christ, Karl Barth, Time | Leave a comment

One More for Bonhoeffer

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Rick Wadholm

I have waited a long time for Bonhoeffer’s Fiction from Tegel Prison to be released in the critical edition by Augsburg Fortress. It is finally being published this Wednesday (and will hopefully arrive by then). It is something quite striking to consider reading the fiction of a man of tremendous faith living on death row and not knowing what the outcome of his prison life will lead to.

As I understand it Dietrich was never fully satisfied with these fictional writings (which in part are about his own life, but fictionalized), but they still offer another insight into the man behind them. I’m looking forward to some new Bonhoeffer reading……

As an aside, what type of book (or genre) would you most likely write if facing the uncertainty of another day in prison (or an endless stream of days)? I personally think it likely I would once again take up poetry and more meditative/devotional writing.

Posted in Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Fiction from Tegel Prison | Leave a comment

Ezekiel 37 – Sticks and Bones

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Rick Wadholm

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37:1-14 – The valley of dry bones. Once again the “hand of the LORD” was on Ezekiel (cf. 1:3; 3:14, 22; 8:1; 33:22; 40:1) and the Spirit (Heb. rûah) of the LORD set him right in the middle of a valley filled with dry bones (note the contrast between this valley of death and the mountains of fruitfulness in the previous chapter). The bones are strewn everywhere showing that there was no proper burial for those who died and they are described as “dry” because they were well beyond any type of resuscitation. Why did the LORD ask Ezekiel if these bones could live and what does Ezekiel’s reply signify? Can the LORD do this work, or better, will the LORD do this? It demonstrates Ezekiel’s dependence upon the LORD and recognition that everything depends upon His will and doing. Why should Ezekiel prophesy to the bones? “Yahweh’s goal in reviving these bones is not simply the biological-chemical reconstition of the body or even the restoration of physical life. He desires spiritual revival: a new recognition of and relationship with himself” (Block NICOT 376). What are the contents of his prophesying to the bones?

Note the emphasis upon the breath (Heb. rûah) of life in order for the bones to live even after being attached with everything else anatomically necessary (cf. Gen.2:7). What is the point of the LORD’s giving life? Ezekiel seems surprised by the immediate reaction and sound of the bones being joined to each other and then the tendons, flesh and skin being added. Note the lack of life because there was no breath (Heb. rûah) in them. Why might the LORD require Ezekiel to prophesy again before they would be given life? What does it mean for Ezekiel to prophesy to “breath” (Heb. rûah) and call it from the “four winds” (Heb. rûahot cf. Deut. 28:25-26; Jer.34:17-20) before the “breath” (or “Spirit/spirit” again Heb. rûah) would come into them so that they might live? The Hebrew term rûah occurs ten times in the first fourteen verses of this chapter with the nuanced meanings as agency of conveyance (vs. 1), direction (vs. 9), and animation (vv. 5-6) (see Block NICOT II:373).

The bones which were brought to life as people stand up on their feet much like Ezekiel at his commissioning (cf. Ezek.2:2; 3:24). What do the bones represent? (see vv. 11-14) Note that the metaphor is no longer of a valley of bones, but of the graves of the whole house of Israel (Judah and Israel) that will be opened (cf. Matt.27:52-53) and from which they will be raised to life by the infusion of the LORD’s Spirit (Heb. rûah) into them. Why does the LORD state that He will do this? There are many of the Church Fathers that understood this first section as referring to a general resurrection: Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Cyprian, Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius of Constantine, Ambrose, Severus and John of Damascus (Zimmerli Hermeneia II:264).

27:15-28 – One king over one nation of Israel. Ezekiel is told to take two “sticks” (Heb. ‘ēsîm which may also be translated as “writing tablets” which would possibly include the contents of the two part prophecy that makes up the remainder of the chapter – in favor of this interpretation see Block NICOT 398-406, 409) and write on each addressing the two previous nations: Judah and Israel (Ephraim who was the youngest son of Joseph – cf. Gen.48:8-20; 49:22-26; Deut.33:13-17). Why are the two sticks inscribed and what does holding them together signify?

Notice in the explanation the LORD gives through Ezekiel that Judah takes the priority before “Ephraim” though they are joined together to form a unity in the LORD’s hand. This is not only a prophecy of unity, but of a return from exile for all of the tribes of Israel as the one people of God. What would be the obstacles to accomplishing this and where would the LORD return His people? There would no longer be any multiplicity of kings, but only one king chosen by the LORD to rule the one nation. Also, the one kingdom would be holy and no longer continue in sin and depravity, but would be cleansed and enter into the covenant they were always supposed to have with the LORD as their own God and they as His own people. What does it mean for “David” to be the one king and “shepherd” over the united kingdom of Israel? (cf. 2 Sam.7) Does election to be a part of the one people mean there is no requirement for how one lives?

Note the repetitive use of “forever” and “one” in this extended passage (cf. Gen.28:13-15; 35:9-15). What is a “covenant of peace” (Heb. bĕrît ŝālôm cf. Eze.34:25-31) that is “an everlasting covenant” (Heb. bĕrît ‘ôlām cf. Isa.24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Jer.32:40; 50:5)? What does it mean for the LORD’s sanctuary and dwelling place to be among His newly constituted people? How does His presence make “holy”?

Extra Bibliography

Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel (trans. R. E. Clements; 2 vols., Hermeneia; Philadelpia, PA: Fortress, 1979).

Posted in 2 Samuel, Daniel Block, Deuteronomy, Ezekiel, Genesis, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Matthew, Walther Zimmerli | Leave a comment

The Spirit in the Old Testament

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Rick Wadholm

Dan Block (whom I have high hopes of doing my Ph.D. studies under) has beaten me to the punch. He has not only written several articles (JETS 32, 1989; SBJT 1.1 Spring 1997) where he articulates the theology of the Spirit in the Old Testament and its correlation to the New Testament, but has also included an excursus in his magisterial two-volume commentary on Ezekiel (NICOT Chapters 25-48 pp.360-1) on this topic. A topic which I still hope to work on as part of my Ph.D. dissertation (tentatively titled “A Theology of the Spirit in the Former Prophets”).

And his conclusion is much as mine…the disjunction between the two testaments and the person and work of the Spirit (as has popularly been believed) fails to grapple with the actual evidence of the text. The Spirit indwelt believers in the OT in much the same manner as the NT, but in the NT this was unbounded by ethnicity and status. In both testaments the Spirit endows with power for service. In both, there is an “ecclessiological continuity” (NICOT 360) as evidenced by the requirement for Israel to have circumcised hearts (Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4) that would require the indwelling of the Spirit for sanctifying transformation (Eze.11:19; 36:26). In both, the Spirit is essential for hope of salvation (Ps.51:10-11).

As Block notes in his conclusion, “Ezekiel anticipates the day when the boundaries of physical Israel will finally be coterminous with the borders of the spiritual people of God. But, as [Eze.] 37:1-14 will demonstrate, this can be achieved only through direct divine intervention, Yahweh’s infusion of his people with life” (NICOT 361).

Posted in Daniel Block, Deuteronomy, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Psalms | Leave a comment

Ezekiel 35-36 – Two "Mountainous" Prophecies

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Rick Wadholm

35:1-9 – A prophecy against Mount Seir. Where is Mount Seir and what does it represent? It is the primary site for the kingdom of Edom (house “father” was Esau) which lies to the southeast of Israel and Judah. However, “Edom in Ezekiel 35 is merely one representative of the nations at large who oppose Israel and her God” because “Edom was the arch-type of the non elect the very paragon of a nation raging against the Lord and against his anointed” (Duguid NIVAC 406, 409; cf. Stuart 331). This is a motif that began with the prophetic word concerning the twins, Jacob and Esau, which Rachel gave birth to (cf. Gen. 25:23). From the beginning there was animosity and this actually continued even to the days of Jesus when Herod, an Idumean (of Edom) tried to kill Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:16-18) and the later Herod who actually shared complicity in the crucifixion of Jesus (Luke 23:6-12). What did the LORD promise to do to the Mountain of Seir and what was the end goal? Why was Edom to be judged (cf. Ps. 137:7; Obadiah) and is there any hope for Edom (cf. Deut. 23:7-8)? In what sense was this fulfilled or meant to be fulfilled?

35:10-15 – Why it matters what we say? What did Edom say that the LORD would hold them accountable for? Who are the “two nations” that Edom looked to take over as their own? Note that though the LORD removed his people from Israel and Judah that it was still His land and He would not give up His claim to it. “Yahweh may indeed have left the temple and the city, allowing Nebuchadrezzar, his agent of judgment on his own people, to raze Jerusalem; but this did not mean he had abandoned all interest in the place, nor did it authorize any other nation to seize his land” (Block NICOT II:319). Also, note that the “mountains of Israel” (as opposed to the traditional term “land of Israel”) were rejoiced over for being made desolate, but the LORD would in fact make Mount Seir (and all it represented; cf. a similar use of “Babylon” in Rev. 17-18) desolate.

36:1-15 – A prophecy to the mountains of Israel. What did the LORD promise to the mountains and all the desolated regions of Israel? Why would the LORD promise judgment against those who slandered the land and savagely took possession of it? Note that it has to do with the LORD’s zeal and jealousy. What does this tell us about the LORD’s motivation for judgment? Was it primarily for Israel’s benefit or His (with Israel to benefit as He does)? What theological significance might be attributed to knowing that “I am concerned for you” reads literally “I will turn to you” (cf. Lev. 26:9) in Eze. 36:9? Whose people are Israel? Is the LORD concerned for the land? Note the promises of fruitfulness in both agriculture and the people of Israel. Has this prophecy been fulfilled? (see particularly verses 12-15) What was said about the land concerning its ability to sustain or “devour” a population (cf. Num. 13:32) and how would this be changed?

36:16-23 – What led to the defilement of Israel and why would they be redeemed? In what way should we understand Israel’s defilement to be like a woman with her monthly period? (cf. Lev. 15:19-24) It seems to signify that Israel was to be separated from all things sacred and clean and therefore excluded from both the land and the people that have been set apart. This would explain the LORD’s exiling of His people. How was the LORD’s name profaned among the nations by the exile? What role does the LORD’s “name” play in how He acts towards people, both in judgment and redemption? For whose sake will the LORD return His people to the land and bless them? Note the emphasis upon what is “holy”. What significance does this make?

36:24-32 – The gathering of Israel. Who will gather Israel from the nations? (cf. Deut. 30:4) What will the LORD do as a part of this gathering? What does it mean for the LORD to “sprinkle clean water” on His people and to? (cf. Lev. 15) What will the LORD do to redeem His people? Is it enough to have them outwardly acting the way that they should or is there a necessary inward change? (cf. Deut. 30:6-8) Dan Block sees Jeremiah’s influence in this passage, but notes that what Jeremiah attributes to Torah Ezekiel attributes to “the infusion of the divine rûaḥ” (NICOT 356-7). Note that the LORD promises the Spirit to redeemed Israel just as the believer in Christ is promised the Spirit. Will there be any room for personal boasting after the people of Israel are redeemed? What should and will their response be?

36:33-36 – The promise of a resettled land. What is the prerequisite for the resettlement? Will the land simply be restored to its former state or will the state after redemption be better than the former? The comparison “like the garden of Eden” is something that other prophets also mention (cf. Isa. 51:3; Joel 2:3) Why does the LORD say that He will do all of this?

36:37-38 – The “flocks” that are heard. What does it mean for the LORD to finally “yield to the plea of the house of Israel”? Note that earlier Ezekiel had been denied pleading with the LORD on behalf of Israel, but now the LORD will answer such cries. Why are the people likened to sheep and what picture does this present? What is the reason for all of this?

Extra Bibliography

Douglas Stuart, Ezekiel (Dallas, TX: Word 1988).

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